


Superior

by missbecky



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Comics), Iron Man (Comic), Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: (sort of), Angst, Hate Sex, M/M, Superior Iron Man, not a fix it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-19
Updated: 2014-11-19
Packaged: 2018-02-26 05:40:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2640125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missbecky/pseuds/missbecky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So they called you in," Tony says. He stands close, a little too close for comfort, in fact, given what Peter now knows about him. "Billions of miles away, and they thought you could come here and talk me down. Wow, they're really getting desperate, aren't they?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Superior

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the [cover of Guardians Team-Up #1](http://marvel.com/news/comics/23690/enter_a_comics_gateway_with_guardians_team-up), and written with the idea in mind that Peter would be horrified by "superior" Tony Stark.

"I'm sorry, you want me to do what?" Peter asks in disbelief.

Earth and the entire galaxy are being threatened. He wouldn't be here otherwise. He didn't come here to help the Avengers police one of their own, and he definitely isn't here to listen to their stories about a former Avenger gone rogue.

Until he hears a name.

They all call him "Stark" now. He's not Tony anymore. Somewhere along the way even his friends gave up on him. Everyone who's tried to talk him down has crawled away, beaten and defeated – often quite literally.

Peter is horrified by what the Avengers tell him. Even during the short time he and Tony had together, it was obvious that Tony had a darker side to his nature, but then again, who doesn't? After all, no one would ever guess that Peter himself once willingly slaughtered an entire colony of innocent people in order to save the galaxy.

But this is something different. This is something sinister, magic and unknown forces at work, turning Tony into someone else. A stranger.

A villain.

"Will you talk to him?" Carol asks. "You guys are friends. And there's not a history there."

Peter tries very hard to keep a straight face upon hearing that. Apparently he doesn't do so well at it, because Carol concedes, "Well, a different history. One without all the Avengers baggage."

This is true, but Peter isn't arrogant enough to think he will succeed where Tony's other friends have failed. Still, he figures he might as well try. They _do_ have a history together, just not one that he's willing to share with Carol or the other Avengers. His relationship with Tony isn't based on heroic adventures or anything like that.

No, what they had was more a mutual understanding and respect supplemented with great sex and an easy camaraderie. When Tony left the Guardians to return to Earth, his absence left a hole in Peter's life that he's still trying to adjust to. And even though it's for all the wrong reasons, a small part of him is eager to see Tony again.

Mostly though, he's just dreading it. 

****

He's never been to San Francisco, which he figures is a good thing. He's got nothing to compare it to. The city is full of people craving Extremis and doing horrible things to get their fix. Drugs are no longer sold on street corners; Extremis is the new thing, and people will do anything to get it.

Tony agrees to see him, which is a good start. Peter arrives at his mansion just as the sun is going down. The air is pleasantly cool, and the house and lawn are immaculate. The servant who lets him in is impeccably dressed and exceedingly polite.

Peter stands in the large room where he was ushered, and feels faintly nauseous.

Tony doesn't keep him waiting long. He bounds in, the perfect picture of health, tanned and beautiful, his blue eyes sparkling with life. "Quill!" He comes forward and embraces Peter. It's nothing at all like the greeting Peter imagined all these months, and he feels a little more sick to his stomach.

"What brings you out here?" Tony asks as he steps back. He's smiling, but there's an undercurrent of something dark in his voice.

"You," Peter says honestly.

Most of Tony's smile dissolves then. "So they called you in," he says. He stands close, a little too close for comfort, in fact, given what Peter now knows about him. "Billions of miles away, and they thought you could come here and talk me down. Wow, they're really getting desperate, aren't they?"

"Actually," Peter says, "I'm here because Earth is under threat of an attack from –"

Tony waves a hand, cutting him off and making it abundantly clear that he doesn't care. "Don't worry," he says. "I can handle it."

"Because you're 'superior' now," Peter says flatly. The Tony he knew was always confident in his own abilities, but this is a new kind of arrogance. It turns Tony from a beautiful man into an ugly one, and makes Peter wonder if he'll ever see that old Tony again.

"Well, yeah," Tony says with a sly smile. "Although I admit, I might have _some_ help." He points out the window, and Peter sees a flash of something red and gold fly past. An unmanned drone, of course. Either flying on a pre-programmed pattern, or more likely, controlled by Tony himself through Extremis, that mental interface with machines that resides once more within his brain.

"We could certainly use the help," Peter lies. He wants nothing to do with the hundred Iron Man suits that Tony would bring to the fight. Better no help at all than deal with that.

"Great," Tony says brightly. His blue eyes flash, almost like they're alight from within. "All you have to do is ask."

Peter clamps his mouth shut. He'll be damned if he begs for help – which is exactly what Tony wants. Especially when he doesn't really want that "help" in the first place.

Tony studies him for a long moment. All traces of good humor vanish from his face; that strange light stays in his eyes, though. "Why are you really here, Quill?"

"I wanted to see you," Peter says. "Talk to you."

"We're talking now," Tony says.

From the corner of his eye, Peter sees movement flash past in the window. He tells himself not to look. Not to give in. It's what Tony wants. And he's not about to give Tony anything.

He knows now that he shouldn't have come out here. It was a mistake. He'll be lucky to escape this meeting without getting the shit kicked out of him, the way those other Avengers did before him. One by one they all tried, and one by one they all failed. What in the hell made him think he would be any different?

But he remembers then, remembers what he and Tony had, and why he thought he might be able to reach Tony when no one else could. And though it sets his heart to beating faster with trepidation, he makes himself take a single step forward. And then another.

Tony stands still, watching him warily.

"I've missed you," Peter says, and that much is true. He does still miss Tony. Not the man standing in front of him – this is no more Tony Stark than that empty suit of armor flying outside is. No, he misses the real Tony, the man who used to make him smile with just a teasing look, who made him fall apart with his touch at night.

The light in Tony's eyes dims a little. "I am awfully missable," he says with a smartass smirk. But he's reaching for it this time, and that gives Peter enough incentive to take the last step separating them.

He doesn't hesitate, not wanting to give Tony an opportunity to move away and stop him. He sets his hands on Tony's arms and he kisses Tony. He puts everything of himself into that kiss, all those nights they lay together, sometimes talking, sometimes just drawing comfort from the other person's presence.

And Tony lets him.

Bolder now, Peter lets one hand slide upward to cup the back of Tony's neck. He presses the kiss, using his tongue to open Tony's mouth. He sways forward, closing the distance between their bodies, and is encouraged to feel Tony's arousal against his own.

"Upstairs?" he murmurs.

Tony nods, his eyes closed. Without that unearthly blue glow in their depths, he looks more normal, more like himself. He's breathing heavily, his lips parted.

Together they go upstairs, pausing every few feet for another heated kiss and to remove some clothing. Peter presses his advantage and uses every trick he knows. He's alternately gentle and sweet, and then desperate and wanting, almost bruising Tony's skin. He's in control now, and he doesn't dare let up for a moment, lest he lose it.

Maybe this is it, he thinks as they fall onto Tony's bed. Maybe this is all it takes. This reminder of what once was, and what could be again, if only things changed.

Maybe he can really do this.

****

Later, they lie together in bed, naked and sleepy. Months ago, when they used to do this and it wasn't for ulterior motives but simply because they liked it and they were good at it, Peter used to fall asleep beside Tony, secure in the knowledge that he would be safe. Now he would feel safer falling asleep in the middle of the street.

"I missed this," Tony says. His eyes aren't glowing anymore.

It's the perfect opportunity. And like a fool, Peter takes it. "We really had something, didn't we," he says.

Tony doesn't reply. He just nods, gazing intently at Peter.

"We could have it again," Peter says. "Come back with me. Back into space." He's in no position to issue an invitation like that just now, not with the threat to Earth and the galaxy, and he knows it – but this is Tony. And if leaving San Francisco and getting back out into the stars will help Tony find himself again, Peter will do anything in his power to make that happen.

Tony looks thoughtful, lying there on his side, his head propped up on one hand. "Back into space, hmm?" The faintest glow returns to his eyes. "All those people, all those alien races. What I could do out there…" He trails off, his gaze turned inward as he considers all the possibilities.

Cold with horror, Peter doesn't dare move. He's just handed Tony the keys to the entire galaxy, offered him countless planets full of innocent people to defile and corrupt. In a lifetime of making terrible decisions, this is beyond a doubt the worst one he's ever made.

"It's a good idea, but I can't accept," Tony says, and he looks at Peter again. "I have to stay here and see this thing through." He sits up, and now he doesn't look thoughtful anymore. He looks angry. "Plenty of people would like to see me leave, just so they could come in behind me and dismantle my empire." That bluish light is back again, brighter than ever as he narrows his eyes. "But I bet you don't know anything about that, do you?"

Peter knows then that he's been defeated. Hell, he never even stood a chance. All that time he thought he was in control of the situation, and he was never even close. Tony only let him think he was in charge – and probably laughed at him the whole time.

Slowly he sits up. He tries not to think about the stories the Avengers told him, what happened to Daredevil and War Machine and anyone else who challenged Tony to stop what he was doing. He tries not to think about how exquisitely vulnerable he is right now and how much damage Tony could do to him.

"All I know," he says carefully, "is that you aren't the man I used to know. You aren't my friend anymore. And if you come out there, into space, into my world, I _will_ stop you."

Tony smiles, dark and dangerous. "You could try," he invites. "You could even try now, if you wanted."

"No," Peter says. His stomach twists painfully, and for a horrible moment he thinks he might throw up. "That's not what I want."

"Are you sure?" Tony says. "I wouldn't even call in the cavalry. Just you and me. Keep it fair."

"We're done," Peter says, and he's amazed at how normal he sounds. He hopes Tony's Extremis-enhanced senses can't hear the rapid pounding of his heart. "I'm leaving."

"What makes you think I'm going to let you just walk out of here?" Tony says.

"Because I trust that you will," Peter says. Stiff with tension, he throws back the covers and gets out of bed. With every move he makes, he waits for the rushing sound of air as Tony hurtles forward and attacks him.

But nothing happens. Tony stays where he is, sitting up in bed, the sheet pooled in his lap. He doesn't move as Peter gets dressed. And when Peter is finished and he finally dares to look at Tony, he's surprised to see the blue glow is gone, and Tony's eyes are normal again.

"It's been a long time since anyone said they trusted me," Tony says. His voice is edged with something sharp and brittle. He might actually mean it.

Or he might not. Peter isn't about to be fooled again. "It's been a long time since you gave anyone a reason to trust you," he says, and hopes he hasn't just earned himself a beating after all.

Tony blinks. It's not quite a flinch, but it's close.

So he _did_ mean it. Peter is sorry for that, but not sorry enough to linger. He knows perfectly well that it's only some last vestige of affection Tony harbors for him that's let him get away with everything so far. With every second he stays here, he's pushing his luck.

"I'll see myself out," he says.

He makes it out of the mansion without interference, although the drone on patrol stops on its route and hovers in mid-air to watch him leave. That would be Tony, watching him through the dead eyes of the armor. 

He doesn't stop walking. He doesn't look back.

He wonders if Tony's eyes are glowing now.


End file.
